Coordinators Knapp, Tarver expect leap in production next season

The burning question on the minds of many is, why take a Raiders offense that last season finished ninth in average yards and per game and 15th in average points per game and install a new blocking scheme and playbook?
To which, Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said: That’s a “good question; a question worth asking.”
In short, Knapp said, because you teach what you know best, and his system has a track record of working well.
The key is patience. Knapp and defensive coordinator Jason Tarver said their schemes are sound, but they take time to implement and for the players to learn. Bringing back as many players as possible from this year’s team and giving them a year to adjust are going to pay huge dividends.
“I’m a firm believer in the scheme,” Knapp said Thursday. “I’ve been to too many places and had too much experience to know it’s a very productive scheme. Like it is for anywhere you go, when coaching changes occur you want the coaches who are the teachers to teach what they know best. If you do that with the coaches, they’re going to have answers for the issues that come up in the system.”
Knapp said his history in retooling offenses shows that players need a year or so to get acclimated but, once they’re up to speed, good things happen.
“Every place I’ve been to, it’s usually going to take at least a year’s transition time to get everything taught … ,” Knapp said. “If you take a business structure and you make those changes, it’s going to take a year’s time to process everything and learn it. Once they master it, you can add to it. Right now, it’s taking some time.”
When posed the same question, why change the offense? Raiders coach Dennis Allen said he, too, is a firm believer in what Knapp is doing.
“There’s been a lot of change, and when there is a lot of change, sometimes you don’t get the results that you’re looking for right away,” Allen said. “But when you believe in something, and you stick to it and you know it’s the right plan, it ends up working out.”
Next season is when the Raiders can expect those results, Knapp said. And how is that going to manifest itself?
“More consistency and higher scoring points,” Knapp said, “because we’re not able to keep those drives long enough right now to get the points on the board. So, by keeping the system in place and keeping the bulk of the players here, now we keep the drives alive and we get our point total up into the mid-20s, and that’s what we want to be.
“If you’re in the mid-20s to high 20s, you’re going to be in the top 10 of the league in scoring, and that’s ultimately what has to happen. To get 11 guys on the same page, you need some reps and experience together and with a year’s offeseason work of that and a better offseason system, the performance level usually goes up the next season.”
In Knapp’s second season as offensive coordinator in three previous stops, his team’s scoring dropped by an average of 1.1 points per game and an average of 4.5 yards per game in Year 2.
Tarver said, “I want it now,” when asked about the time it takes to get a scheme at peak performance. “It’s a now business.”
At the same time, he said, the players are getting better as the season progresses, which is an encouraging sign that they are grasping the scheme.
“With the change of personnel, now they’re realizing what the scheme can do for them,” Tarver said. “It’s been good. With a year under our belts and keeping as many of these guys as we can, it’ll grow big time.”
Cornerback Michael Huff boasted of the Raiders having a top-five defense this season. He now says that the defense has a “long way to go” before it’s where it needs to be.
Bringing back as many players as possible is paramount.
“You want to keep a lot of the same guys there, especially in the secondary because it’s all really communication, talking and making sure everybody is on the same page,” Huff said.
Veteran defensive end Andre Carter said he understands how people might question the merit of bringing back the same scheme and many of the same players, given the lack of success this season.
However, he said he, too, has seen the value of continuity during the course of his long NFL career.
“I’ve had eight defensive coordinators in my career,” Carter said. “Learning the scheme takes a lot of time. The first year, yeah it’s tough. It’s all growing pains and you learn as you go. Coming into that second year, the comfort level is a little bit better, the communication is a little better and the execution is so different.
“This year is just a level for the growth and development of the younger guys, as well as the vets trying to adapt the new scheme and philosophy.”

– Middle linebacker Rolando McClain declined an interview request after practice.
McClain said, “Coach covered everything you could ask me. I ain’t got nothing to say about anything,” when asked if he wanted to speak with the media.
McClain, of course, was referencing Allen saying he and McClain had a talk Wednesday, at which time Allen outlined for McClain what he expected from him the rest of this season and beyond.
McClain was suspended for two games by the Raiders for conduct detrimental to the team. He returned from his suspension Monday as the Raiders backup middle linebacker and special teams player.

– Allen said defensive tackle Richard Seymour suffered a “setback” in his return from a hamstring injury.
Seymour missed the past five games as a result of the injury. He practiced Monday for the first time since he suffered the injury Nov. 4.
“We’ll evaluate him as we finish out the week, but I thought he practiced well yesterday and then early today,” Allen said. “It kind of grabbed him a little bit, so we’ll see.”

– Strong safety Tyvon Branch missed practice today for the third straight day this week. However, there is hope that he might be able to rebound in time to play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“He was on the side working out with the trainers,” Allen said. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to get him out here and practice a little bit tomorrow. His mind-set is he wants to play this weekend.”

– The Raiders received an extension from the league in hopes of selling enough tickets by day’s end Friday to avoid the Chiefs game being blacked out.
The Raiders need to sell at least 85 percent of the tickets for the game to be televised locally. Typically, when the Raiders ask for an extension, the game winds up being televised.
Six of Oakland’s first seven regular-season home games this season were televised locally. The Browns game is the only one that was blacked out.

– Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie said they want to get a good look at young players such as quarterback Terrelle Pryor, offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and defensive linemen Christo Bilukidi and Jack Crawford the final three games.
That remains the plan, Allen said, just don’t expect any of those guys to start.
“I don’t see any real major changeups as far as the starting lineup’s concerned, but we do want to see some of these guys get in some game action,” Allen said. “And how much that is, I don’t know exactly right now. A lot of that, the game will dictate what that is.”

– Young players that don’t figure to get much playing time the rest of the way are tight ends Richard Gordon and David Ausberry.
From the sound of it, they don’t factor much into the Raiders long-term plans, either.
“We’ve had a chance to look at these guys a little bit,” Allen said, “and we kind of know what we’ve got in these guys. They’re still in the lineup and they’ll still be used pretty much the same way we’ve used them.”
That means a handful of offensive snaps and the rest on special teams. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of either player moving forward.

– Looks as if it’s full systems go for running back Darren McFadden, who is doing much better in his return from an aggravated ankle injury than many might have expected.
How’s Darren looked all week?
“Darren’s been great,” Allen said. “He’s been great all week. I haven’t noticed anything where he’s had any issues at all. So, I’m really kind of expecting him to be full go.”

DeFilippo said Pryor never showed frustration at being inactive for 11 games of the season and has worked diligently on his footwork to improve his passing accuracy.

“There’s always room for improvement in any quarterback, but he’s making strides,” DeFilippo said.

——

HELL YEAH!!!!! THAT IS THE BEST NEWS I HAVE HEARD ALL SEASON LONG!!!!

I hope this young guy can make a few plays and force a controversy. i hope he can force a competition and win the job out right to start!!!

Greg knapp had vick in atl so im sure people will compare and say they will not succeed just as knapp and vick ultimately didnt.

I would disagree because vick and pryor are not comparable other than their blinding 4.4 speed.

I vick entered the nfl with a much smoother throwing motion, pryor’s was a quirky 3/4 delivery, closer to bernie kosar. i felt coming out of college that unless he could prove that he could fix his delivery and make better decisions off the field he would have trouble at this level. I could see that his delivery was the main flaw in his game and severely hampered his accuracy at times.

pryor has smoothed out his motion and it was evident in preseason. The coach says his accuracy has improved, backing up my observations. he has worked diligently to correct flaws, and this will separate him from guys like vince young who never addressed his throwing motion. I am greatly encouraged by this turn of events.

OFF the field pryor has matured as a young man, and his profession is first in his life, this is also where he differs from vick. Things came easily to vick in college and in his early pro days. pryor almost lost his pro career before it started and has had to fight and claw for every scrap. he is hungry focused dedicated to his craft, and has grasped professionalism.

because of these factors i think knapp has a chance to succeed with pryor ion a way he never did with vick, even though vick may have been a more pro ready product at during his first two years as a pro.

I cant wait to see what he does when he gets his shot

The_Judge37

698.Al_is_theraiders Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:10 am
whatever…little kids are dead by some dypsheyt with a big gun…..
————-

It’s horrible. My solution would be to Burn this guy alive at the stake, then see how many copy cats want to follow. Doesn’t solve the $h!t bags who take their own life though.

MiamiRaider78

DMAC,

Hell nah! Thats in Orlando and if i’m going there (3hrs) it’s to Disney World. lol

We give the Warriors props but thats where it stops.

Al_is_theraiders

yeah…just feel bad for the families.

HayesDaze37

Among other things, the Raiders need a RB who can stay on the field, and give us 100+ combined yards per game.

I rue the day the Raiders spent their #1 pick on the mercurial DMC. It has been a failed experiment.

Hell nah! Thats in Orlando and if i’m going there (3hrs) it’s to Disney World. lol

We give the Warriors props but thats where it stops.
=======

lol
Kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone?

The_Judge37

705.HayesDaze37 Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Among other things, the Raiders need a RB who can stay on the field, and give us 100+ combined yards per game.

I rue the day the Raiders spent their #1 pick on the mercurial DMC. It has been a failed experiment.
———

I’d rather have McFadden run hard for 9 games than run scared. Just need a good back up like we had with Bush. It’s hard to fault someone for getting hurt, especially RB’s

Mistic1 Tha Supavillain

rob parker suspended for rgIII comments

WOW

dont speak out of turn you will get checked

Dakota

705.HayesDaze37 Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Among other things, the Raiders need a RB who can stay on the field, and give us 100+ combined yards per game.

I rue the day the Raiders spent their #1 pick on the mercurial DMC. It has been a failed experiment.

+++++++++++++++

Cuz Glenn Dorsey would have solved everything right?

inonewordraider

Gun control is not going to solve the problem of crazy peices of $h!t. Look at Mexico, which has strict Gun laws Nationwide.
__________________
we don’t have drug cartels controlling much of the country here though

Al_is_theraiders

just 5 minutes with a schyytbag like this…5 min…

DMAC

Yes DMAC is injury prone, but I can’t believe there’s so many in here that pick Knapp over DMAC.
DMAC clearly isn’t a zone runner.
Some rather keep Knapp and add another RB?
lol

The_Judge37

711.inonewordraider Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Gun control is not going to solve the problem of crazy peices of $h!t. Look at Mexico, which has strict Gun laws Nationwide.
__________________
we don’t have drug cartels controlling much of the country here though
——

That’s what you’d like to think

DMAC

Al_is_theraiders Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:19 am

just 5 minutes with a schyytbag like this…5 min…
========

1 sec and a .45

The_Judge37

DMAC Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Yes DMAC is injury prone, but I can’t believe there’s so many in here that pick Knapp over DMAC.
DMAC clearly isn’t a zone runner.
Some rather keep Knapp and add another RB?
——–

I don’t get that either. “Let’s get more guys to fit knapps system?” Like the guys who think Alex Smith would be a better fit for Knapps WCO

Way too quick and easy. I need at least an hour, gallon of gas, fire extinguisher and rubbing alcohol.

inonewordraider

go back to 2004 mexico 2.7 gun deaths /100k with 2858 dead, us 3.2/100k 9385 dead with a lot more poverty in mexico

DMAC

I was talking about during the scene.

DMAC

inonewordraider Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:22 am

go back to 2004 mexico 2.7 gun deaths /100k with 2858 dead, us 3.2/100k 9385 dead with a lot more poverty in mexico
=========

In Mexico they don’t shoot as much, because they slice and dice you up and then burn you up.

HayesDaze37

Anybody seen Matt Shaughnessy?? He’s been as absent as Seymour, and Seymour can’t even keep his high-paid a$$ on the field.

It would be nice to see Seymour go out with a few good games to end his career…and Shaughnessy to start playing the way “we” all expected him to this year and beyond.

inonewordraider

dang a k-4? nothings sacred. they have a problem in china where people attack kindergardens and elementary schools with knives, today 7 children and 2 adults killed with a meatclever at an elementary. and in china they’ve placed security at a lot of the schools

The_Judge37

722.HayesDaze37 Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Anybody seen Matt Shaughnessy?? He’s been as absent as Seymour, and Seymour can’t even keep his high-paid a$$ on the field.

It would be nice to see Seymour go out with a few good games to end his career…and Shaughnessy to start playing the way “we” all expected him to this year and beyond.
———-

Problem is “We” all expect more than what ShoNasty is able to provide. I don’t think he’s ever had more sacks than 7 in a season. He’s not a superstar talent.

Charlie

Please read my post carefully:

“There is not anyone in the NFL that thinks the Raiders have the talent to compete. That is why you will not get veteran coaches to come here.”

Why did Carrol go to Seattle. They already had talent.
Why did Peyton go to the Broncos. They already had talent.
Why Schiano (Not aproven NFL talent but I assume you mean winning at some level) to the Bucs. They had talent.
Why Fisher to the Rams. They had talent.
You proved my point.

WE HAVE THE MOST ERODED DLINE IN THE LEAGUE. OLD, OVERPAID W/O A FIRST OR SECOND ROUND PICK AND OVER THE CAP. WE ALSO NEEDED A WHOLE NEW SCOUTING DEPARTMENT WITH COMPUTERS. COMPUTERS!!!!!!!

Our Oline is a bit better but still needs two new starters at a minimum.

Law enforcement officer on t.v just suggested, on top of the background check, a psychological screening like officers go through to be able to use a firearm.

Should have been done a long time ago!

The_Judge37

Matt is nothing more than a Rotational player, like most d-lineman in the League now. He’s no Freeny or Peppers.

http://www.Raiders.com KoolKell

Another freak with a gun, shooting up kids at school.

The_Judge37

728.MiamiRaider78 Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:28 am
Law enforcement officer on t.v just suggested, on top of the background check, a psychological screening like officers go through to be able to use a firearm.

Should have been done a long time ago!
————

I’ve suggested that Officers should need more than a GED to carry a firearm themselves.

DMAC

Charlie Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:28 am

Please read my post carefully:

“There is not anyone in the NFL that thinks the Raiders have the talent to compete. That is why you will not get veteran coaches to come here.”

Why did Carrol go to Seattle. They already had talent.
Why did Peyton go to the Broncos. They already had talent.
Why Schiano (Not aproven NFL talent but I assume you mean winning at some level) to the Bucs. They had talent.
Why Fisher to the Rams. They had talent.
You proved my point.

WE HAVE THE MOST ERODED DLINE IN THE LEAGUE. OLD, OVERPAID W/O A FIRST OR SECOND ROUND PICK AND OVER THE CAP. WE ALSO NEEDED A WHOLE NEW SCOUTING DEPARTMENT WITH COMPUTERS. COMPUTERS!!!!!!!

Our Oline is a bit better but still needs two new starters at a minimum.

The teams you cited were in no way near this DISASTROUS condition.
===========

If these teams already had talent, then why were their HC’s fired and replaced by others????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

MiamiRaider78

731

LOL

http://www.Raiders.com KoolKell

26 dead. 18 children 8 adults.

The_Judge37

Problem is breaking the Trend. Guns are far to easy to get, legal or not, to be the solution. Problem is crazy $h!tbags. And since Columbine there’s no answers.

Yeah, a sick fvcker shoots up a school… ok lets ban guns. That will work.

Drugs are illegal, have been for decades. I can get a pound of heroine just as easily as a gun.

We don’t need to regulate guns further, we need to regulate people.

School shootings didn’t happen prior to the 90s because we weren’t pussies before that, we identified sick fvckin people and locked them up. Now we coddle this psychos until the kill a classroom full of children.

“There is not anyone in the NFL that thinks the Raiders have the talent to compete. That is why you will not get veteran coaches to come here.”

Why did Carrol go to Seattle. They already had talent.
Why did Peyton go to the Broncos. They already had talent.
Why Schiano (Not aproven NFL talent but I assume you mean winning at some level) to the Bucs. They had talent.
Why Fisher to the Rams. They had talent.
You proved my point.

WE HAVE THE MOST ERODED DLINE IN THE LEAGUE. OLD, OVERPAID W/O A FIRST OR SECOND ROUND PICK AND OVER THE CAP. WE ALSO NEEDED A WHOLE NEW SCOUTING DEPARTMENT WITH COMPUTERS. COMPUTERS!!!!!!!

Our Oline is a bit better but still needs two new starters at a minimum.

The teams you cited were in no way near this DISASTROUS condition.
_____________
who do the rams have? an average bradford, an old stephen jackson and amendola on o, how do they score?

name one guy on the bucs d?

the 9ers had studs (smith, willis, davis) before harbaugh

seattle has who at receiver? who are there oline and dlinemen? what about their lb’s?

MiamiRaider78

The problem is, life has lost it’s value. No one respects anyone anymore and people grow more insensitive and inconsiderate by the day.

http://www.Raiders.com KoolKell

MiamiRaider78 Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:37 am

The problem is, life has lost it’s value. No one respects anyone anymore and people grow more insensitive and inconsiderate by the day.
————————
Yep. Look at the trolls on this blog

http://www.Raiders.com KoolKell

This schit is Normal in America, but nowhere else in the world.

The_Judge37

I do feel we’ve become to coddled as a society. Now the slightest thing hurts and offends people and they don’t know how to deal with it. Most of the people who go on these crazy rampages, you can tell they haven’t been through much adversity and can’t cope.

Bcz24 Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:36 am
Yeah, a sick fvcker shoots up a school… ok lets ban guns. That will work.

Drugs are illegal, have been for decades. I can get a pound of heroine just as easily as a gun.

We don’t need to regulate guns further, we need to regulate people.

School shootings didn’t happen prior to the 90s because we weren’t pussies before that, we identified sick fvckin people and locked them up. Now we coddle this psychos until the kill a classroom full of children.
————————-
Dumb dumb dumb

The_Judge37

jesusraiderjim Says:
December 14th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Hey blog brothers it would behoov you to take a look at this video.

Kind of a let down. I feel that video was about 4 yards short of the Sticks.

HayesDaze37

Umm, Judge –

You’re missing the point on Shaughnessy. Go back to before the season, and you could find (and hear) glowing reports on Shaughnessy, and his upcoming break-out year, because he was healthy again. His Pro Bowl push just didn’t materialize. And, I don’t know of anyone expecting him to be a sack specialist.

http://www.Raiders.com KoolKell

Angry white men with machine guns……………….

RaidingTexas

Bcz24 Says:

School shootings didn’t happen prior to the 90s because we weren’t pussies before that, we identified sick fvckin people and locked them up. Now we coddle this psychos until the kill a classroom full of children.